1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for providing control commands for a vehicle steerable by an operating unit or for an image acquisition device of the vehicle by sequential display of image data of the image acquisition device of the vehicle on an image display device of the operating device connected to the vehicle via a data transfer connection. It furthermore relates to a control system with at least one steerable vehicle, at least one operating device for the vehicle and a data transfer device for the exchange of data and/or signals between the vehicle and the operating device. Preferably the vehicle is an aircraft, such as, for example, an armed missile.
2. Discussion of Background Information
If a vehicle that has an image acquisition device and transfers the acquired images to an operating unit on which an operator sees the displayed images is controlled by the operator based on these images, a significant latency occurs between the acquisition of an image in the vehicle and the arrival of a control signal due to an operator command carried out on the basis of the acquired and displayed image. This latency can mean that operator commands as a reaction of the operator to a recorded image arrive at the vehicle with marked delay, so that the control of the vehicle cannot be carried out successfully in this manner.
To solve this latency problem, it is known with a missile to provide a data transfer device with a broadband data link between the missile and the operating unit. The operator thereby receives the image sequence or video sequence recorded by the image acquisition device displayed on the image display device of the operating unit with an imperceptible time delay and thus can correct the target point, for example, during the flight of the missile. The image is transmitted to the operating unit of the ground station without almost any latency due to the rapid data connection. During the flight, the details of the target become visible to the operator with increasing clarity. Moreover, due to the fast data connection, the images can be transmitted at a high image refresh rate so that a video sequence is produced virtually free from jolts, which provides the operator with a good basis for a target correction. The data transfer is thereby carried out via an optical fiber cable, which is unwound from a reel in the missile during the flight. This optical fiber cable thus represents a physical connection between the flying missile and the operating unit. It is obvious that a physical connection of this type can be maintained only over a limited distance between the operating unit and the target point. An alternative to this physical data transfer connection by optical fiber cable or copper cable can be a broadband radio connection, which, however, can be realized only with direct sight connection between the operating unit and the missile and only over a relatively short distance. If a direct sight connection between the operating unit and the missile in flight is not possible and if cable cannot or should not be carried on board, the only possibility is a transfer at much lower data rates via radio.
So-called “man-in-the-loop” controls of this type, in which an operator operates the vehicle by remote control based on images recorded in the vehicle, have two considerable advantages. During the approach by the vehicle to a target or a target region, the operator can orient himself based on the transmitted images and reconnoiter the region regarding a target or alternative targets. To this end, the operator can pivot the image recording device of the vehicle via the remote control, for example, if the vehicle is underway for a sufficient length of time. Furthermore, the operator has the option of selecting the concrete target and carrying out corresponding path corrections. The closer the vehicle approaches the target or the target region, the more precisely the target can be identified. On the basis of this identification either a more precise orientation in the target direction can be made or the mission can be aborted.
If only a narrow-band data transfer connection is available instead of a broadband data transfer connection, the remote control of the vehicle by the operator will become markedly more difficult. Even a simple pivoting of the seeker head with the image acquisition device by the user, for example, carried out by a joystick on the operating unit, is virtually impossible for the operator to handle without additional precautions. The response of the movement of the control lever, that is, the entered operator command for the seeker head, arrives at the operating unit as a swivel visible in the image only after a long delay and long after the control lever has been actuated and is consequently displayed there on the image display device with a long delay. These latency periods or reaction times can be in the range of seconds even at high data compression rates. A target selection, that is, a control of the vehicle itself, cannot be carried out in this manner, either.
An alternative to this “man-in-the-loop” control affected by latency problems would be the use of tracking methods, i.e., an automatic tracking of the target in the image. However, tracking methods of this type require very sophisticated image processing devices on board the vehicle and substantially increase the cost of the vehicle.